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The cache mentioned in the opening post was hidden in February, so the cache hider could have been unaware of it's existence when it was hidden. It is also an area where the plant is common enough that the hider felt local cachers would notice it without warning. It could be that the hider didn't want to give the cache location away by mentioning it was hidden near the plants.

I disagree. The fact that the cache was named "Sting" means that the cacher knew EXACTLY what plants were in the area, and probably thought it would be a great laugh to see the logs about people getting "stung".

I disagree. The fact that the cache was named "Sting" means that the cacher knew EXACTLY what plants were in the area, and probably thought it would be a great laugh to see the logs about people getting "stung".

Ah, you are probably correct there - I totally ignored any correlation between the name of the cache and what it might imply of the cache. But that should be considered a warning in itself - if you are paying attention enough to see the connection - which obviously I wouldn't have been!

Just as we were to leave Washington State on our bike trip my friend Gene asked us if we were aware of stinging nettle. I told him I had some in my flower garden at home. Gene said he was aware of the type nettle I was talking about. Gene also said the nettle here was much more severe in it's stinging. He then preceded to take us to a local park and give us a hands on look at the plant. I could see the human hair size stingers all over the plant. Even after all the warnings Gene gave us , I still had to just touch one. Big Big Mistake. My finger ache for days. Just from one little touch, I can't imagine the pain of backing into one of these things with ones pants down. But we were told it happens out west a lot. Causing emergency room treatment.

AWWWWWW . . . my eyes . . . the image seared into my brain of Vic with his pants down getting stung by stinging nettle . . . Awwwwwww . . . I'll never be able to look at him the same way again.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

Ah, you are probably correct there - I totally ignored any correlation between the name of the cache and what it might imply of the cache. But that should be considered a warning in itself - if you are paying attention enough to see the connection - which obviously I wouldn't have been!

I think Bruce is right . . . the cache hider most likely knew about the nettle (unless there was another reason for the name which is possible . . . possible, but not likely I will admit).

However, I agree with Brdad here . . . this kind of goes back to another thread about folks using some commonsense, exercising some good judgment and being aware of their surroundings and not getting tunnel vision. As Brdad said you shouldn't be expected to have to cover every possible and potential problem (i.e. traffic, danger of falls, danger of frozen airplane poo falling from the sky and hitting you on the head, etc.) in every cache listing . . . if we did that our cache descriptions would sound like "lawyer-ese" (apologies to Dubord).

In Nevada there was plenty of caches near cacti with very long and evil-looking (if a plant can truly look evil) thorns . . . none of these caches had warnings . . . it's just assumed that folks who can see would notice these plants and stay clear of them and be careful around them. Now the "Better Than Walmart" cache however should have had a warning for me . . . something along the lines of "Maine cachers who are not used to walking in the desert should probably avoid walking down steep gravel banks unless they don't mind falling down."

This said . . . if I was the cache owner and I had several folks reporting problems I personally would add a tag line about a possible "danger." And in fact I have done so . . . on my Harris Mountain cache I discovered a well. At the time that I hid the cache the cover was still intact and appeared to be in good shape . . . however I felt that this fact should be mentioned. At some point I will most likely return and mark the cover with some marking tape as an added safety measure.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

if you are paying attention enough to see the connection - which obviously I wouldn't have been!

Neither would I. But if the cache had been named "Stinging Nettles", or "Poison Ivy", I'm pretty sure I would have looked around. But with a name like "Sting", I would have been thinking about the cache itself, not the surrounding plant life.

However, I agree with Brdad here . . . this kind of goes back to another thread about folks using some commonsense, exercising some good judgment and being aware of their surroundings and not getting tunnel vision.

Sheesh! Are you telling me that you're NOT like everyone else? That when you're within 20 feet of a cache, you're looking at plants, and not for the traditional pile of sticks?

Sheesh! Are you telling me that you're NOT like everyone else? That when you're within 20 feet of a cache, you're looking at plants, and not for the traditional pile of sticks?

I'm usually a fairly obtuse individual when it comes to geocaching and in fact with life in general but I still pay attention to things like steep drop-offs, plants with sharp thorns, fast-moving traffic, rabid dogs foaming at the mouth, etc. . . . which is probably why I often don't find the cache right away when I'm solo or often last when I'm in a group (although I can say that I wasn't the one person in New Sweden who was wondering where the cache was when it was hanging directly over his head ).

Of course this could be due to the fact that as an EMT the one thing they drill into your head from Day 1 is to check around and determine if the scene is safe . . . something that a lot of folks forget as I've seen over and over while responding to emergency calls when tunnel vision sets in.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

Perhaps, if possible, The cache placer could post a picture of OFFENSIVE things near the cache on the cache page. I don't know what stinging nettle looks like, but it's probabally on my land somewhere.
Opalsns

Perhaps, if possible, The cache placer could post a picture of OFFENSIVE things near the cache on the cache page. I don't know what stinging nettle looks like, but it's probabally on my land somewhere.
Opalsns

That'd be great for the 0.37% of the population that looks at the pictures before hunting a cache.

And then, what one person may find offensive, another may not. Heck, some people would consider seeing another cacher offensive!